“The rest,” he demanded as her fingers hovered near the waistband of her panties.
She pulled the skimpy barrier down her legs and stepped out of them without looking at him.
“Lydia…”
The soft command of her name brought her gaze to his. The longing she saw there was all the courage she needed to bare herself to him. This man, this powerful vampire, wanted her as much as she wanted him. The rest of her clothes were discarded as swiftly as possible.
“Come here.”
Lydia climbed onto the bed and slowly crawled toward him before finding herself flipped over and underneath him before she could blink.
He stared down at her with glowing red eyes. “You are in pain.” It wasn’t a question.
“It’s just a headache,” she responded, loving the weight of his body on top of her. She could feel his huge cock resting between her thighs.
Roman’s hands were suddenly cupping the sides of her face. “Deep breaths,” he commanded as heat poured into her temples. Pain faded to the background until it disappeared altogether.
Lydia’s breath left on a sigh of relief. “I don’t know how you do that, but I’m thankful you can.”
“So beautiful.” He nudged her legs apart, settling between them. “I wanted to know what it felt like waking up with you in my arms.”
Lydia’s stomach was tied in knots. A myriad of emotions scattered throughout her body, leaving her limp with uncertainty. She knew Roman wanted her physically, but what about her heart? How could he ever love someone so weak? So disposable?
She opened her mouth to ask him, only to gasp with his unexpected entrance. “Roman…”
“Don’t tense up.” He pushed in a little deeper, wringing a moan from deep within her.
His mouth covered hers as he sank balls-deep inside her, lifted her legs before pulling back and thrusting in again.
Lydia hooked her feet around his ass and held onto his neck as he pumped into her with long, slow strokes.
He broke off the kiss. “You are like my own personal heaven,” he growled, his hips bucking harder against her.
Lydia lost all train of thought. Her head began to thrash from side to side; her back bowed off the bed as she gripped his hair, jerking his mouth to her neck. “Take me!” she screamed as an orgasm slammed into her violently, taking control of her mind, body, and soul.
Chapter Sixteen
The feel of Lydia milking his cock as she peaked beneath him was one of the most incredible sensations Roman had ever experienced. But nothing prepared him for the feeling of her offering him her blood.
It had to be her lust controlling her, and he would never take her in anything short of love. She had no idea what she asked of him. “Lydia, no.”
Hurt exuded from her in waves as she turned her face toward him. “I am not…” She cleared her throat and tried again. “You don’t want me?”
Heat rushed to the backs of his eyes. “Want you? More than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my long life.”
“Then why?”
“I’ve taken your virginity, Lydia. If I bite you now, it will bond you to me for as long as you shall live.” His fangs lengthened against his will.
A strange emotion radiated from her. “You wouldn’t want me to—”
“Someone’s coming,” Roman interrupted, pulling from her body. “Do not move.”
Lydia watched him blur to the door and yank it open. “What is it, Sawyer?”
“The nurse and child have not returned to the compound,” he growled. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
Lydia’s heart stuttered. She jumped from the bed and began jerking on her clothes.
The change in Roman’s voice was instant. “Who allowed the woman to take the child from the grounds?”
“From what I understand,” Sawyer responded in a deadly soft tone, “her mother did.”
“I’ll be right up.” Roman shut the door and had his clothes on before Lydia could finish clasping her bra.
She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Why did he say that Jeanie took my daughter from here? She would never take Jacie without my consent.”
“Then I take it you had no knowledge of this?”
“Of course not. I asked Jeanie if she would pick up my migraine medicine from my home, and she agreed. Jacie was on an outing with Max. I never said she could take my daughter from the grounds. Never.”
“We should hurry.” Roman scooped her up into his arms and ran with vampiric speed to the security hub where Sawyer and Madison sat waiting. “Why is the child off the property?”
Madison stood. “The nurse said that Jacie had a doctor appointment and that she had to stop off at Miss Hughes’ home for medicine. After talking with Lydia a few hours ago, I had no reason not to believe her, sir.”
Lydia began to pace, tears swimming in her eyes. “I asked Jeanie to go to my place and grab my migraine medicine; I never gave her permission to take Jacie.”
“Did you try calling her?” Madison asked, touching the distraught Lydia on the elbow.
“Yes, and it went straight to voicemail. I’ll try again.” She pulled her cell from her pocket and dialed Jeanie’s number. “Voicemail.”
Roman could feel Lydia’s anxiety bleeding out into the room. “Nobody panic. Perhaps she assumed it would be fine to take the child.”
“But it’s after dark!” Lydia cried, heading for the door.
Roman blocked her path. “I can’t let you go out there.”
“My daughter—”
“Is not going to be at your home,” Roman pointed out.
Lydia’s phone vibrated, and she answered immediately. “Hello?”
Roman stiffened as he heard Simon’s voice come over the line. “Well, if it isn’t Little Miss Goody Two Hughes.”
“Who is this?”
“How easily we forget, Lydia. Or is it Ione this week?”
Roman took the phone from her trembling fingers and brought it to his ear. “Where’s the little girl, Simon?” he snarled into the receiver. “If you’ve harmed her in any way, there will be no place big enough for you to hide from me. I will hunt you straight into hell.”
“Tsk, tsk, Roman. Such big talk from one not having the upper hand. Be a good boy now and go file your fangs while I have a chat with the lovely Ione.”
“Her name is Lydia, and you can go to hell.”
“”I’m already there. Send Ione to the Hughes house alone, or the child and the nurse both die.”
“Releasing Jacie and Jeanie at once, and I won’t remove you head while you sleep.”
“How ironic,” Simon muttered. “You get to explain to Ione a second time why you ruined her life.” The line went dead.
“He has Jacie?” Lydia cried, grabbing his arm and spinning him to face her.
“Lydia, listen—”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
* * * *
Lydia couldn’t wrap her mind around the thought of her baby being in the grips of Simon Le Blanc. Her sweet, innocent Jacie had been taken by an evil, sadistic vampire who was doing God only knew what to her. “Tell me where to find him.”
“That’s exactly what he wants, honey,” Madison quietly pointed out from her position next to Roman. “You are his ultimate goal.”
“I don’t care. He could be hurting her right now. Trade me for her.”
Roman tucked a finger under her chin, forcing her gaze up to his. “Do you really think he would allow either of you to walk out of there alive? We will get your daughter back, but we do it my way.”
“And what way is that? By going in there fighting, risking her life?”
“Listen to me. He has no intension of letting either of you go. If you offer yourself in exchange for Jacie’s life, he will only draw pleasure from the fact that he has you both.”
“But he won’t need Jacie if he has me,” she argued around the lump in her throat.
“He needs the Barbatus blood to break
the bond with Svetlana, but he needs a virgin’s blood to take the life of his maker.”
Lydia’s heart stopped, and her food threatened to come back up. “You mean he…” She couldn’t finish the thought.
Roman stepped in close. “I don’t believe even Simon is that psychotic. But he will keep her prisoner until she is of age.”
“But he will know she’s sick!” Lydia cried. And that may force him to—”
“Stop it. You’ll only run yourself crazy.” Roman pulled her against his tall frame, stroking her back in a soothing motion.
“Please let me go to him,” she whispered brokenly against his chest.
“Even if I knew where to locate him, which I don’t, you would be no match for him, Lydia.”
She pulled back to search his eyes, tears tracking down her face. “Then how are you going to find him?”
“Go to your room and wait for me. I’ll be there to collect you shortly. Do not call anyone and do not answer your phone unless it’s from me.”
“But—”
“Go.” He gave her a gentle push toward the door.
Lydia ran down the hall without looking back. She entered her room and paced along the foot of her bed, randomly glancing at her phone in case she’d missed Simon’s call.
She knew he would call back as surely as she knew he would kill her daughter if he didn’t get what he wanted. Hurry, Roman.
* * * *
Roman ran a hand through his hair and faced Sawyer. “Find Niko and Alex. Have them meet me in the hub as soon as possible.”
“You got it.”
“And Sawyer. I want you with us.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied, heading toward the door.
Madison moved to stand in front of Roman. “Simon will kill Jacie without a second thought.”
“Not until he has Lydia, and I’ll never let that happen,” he snarled, images of Simon hurting his mate running through his mind. And she was his mate. She just didn’t know it yet.
“You love her.”
“More than I have ever loved before.”
“Then go to her. Tell her.”
Roman kissed Madison on the forehead and blurred his way to Lydia’s room. He burst inside to find her pacing at the foot of her bed. “Sawyer went to bring back Niko and Alex.”
Lydia came to a stop. “Who?”
“Aside from me, Svetlana, and Dracula, himself, they are two of the most powerful vampires in the world.”
“What if he hurts her before they get here? I can’t take that risk. I need to go in alone to assure she isn’t harmed.”
“Lydia, you are not strong enough to face Simon,” he insisted, cupping her face.
“Then make me strong!” she shouted, jerking out of his hold.
“I can’t do that.” His heart twisted. She had no idea what she asked of him. “This is no life, Lydia. It’s an existence.”
“My life ends when my daughter dies.” She sobbed, tears tracking down her cheeks.
“You ask me to do the very thing that Simon threatens—to take your life and bind you to me for eternity. I cannot. I will not.”
“Then I will have someone else do it.” She stormed past him toward the door.
Roman was instantly in front of her. “No one touches you but me.”
“Do it then. Do it now.” She jerked the collar of her shirt down, baring her throat to him.
“Baby…”
“Do it!” she shouted, ripping her top in her haste.
“This will bind you to me for as long as you live. It can never be undone.”
She released her shirt and dropped her hand as tears continued to drip endlessly from the corner of her eyes. “I can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather spend eternity with.”
“Lydia?” He held his breath, afraid she would vanish and never speak the words he so desperately wanted to hear.
“I love you, Roman Castillo.”
Roman struck, yanking her body against him and sinking his fangs into the pulse point of her throat. Her incredible flavor burst across his tongue in sweet oblivion. He sank to his knees, pulling her down with him.
She convulsed in his arms while he fed, the feeling of her surrender so overwhelming and orgasmic he shuddered with the power of it.
Soft, mewling sounds came from the back of her throat as her heart slowed to the point that a human wouldn’t have been able to detect it by ear alone.
Roman retracted his fangs from her neck and used them to puncture the veins in his wrist. He held it suspended above her lips, allowing his blood to drip freely into her mouth as he massaged her throat, helping her to swallow.
He stayed in that position for what seemed an eternity, forcing blood into her mouth until her heart ceased beating altogether.
Roman stood in one fluid motion, holding her tight against his chest. He carried her to the bed and deposited her in its center before crawling in next to her to wait.
She had chosen the dark gift, a gift that came from him and could never be undone. His heart filled with love and more than a little pride. She belonged to him now, and nothing or no one could take her from him.
* * * *
Lydia awoke to darkness. Her throat burned, and her body felt completely dehydrated.
“Welcome back.”
She turned her head to find Roman lying next to her with his head propped up on his hand.
He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. “How do you feel?”
“I’m so thirsty.”
“Here. Drink this.” He uncapped a bottled water and handed it to her.
Lydia had never tasted anything as delicious as that bottle of water, she thought, taking great gulps of the cool liquid. She couldn’t seem to get enough.
“Easy. You’ll make yourself sick.”
Drinking every drop, she gave the empty bottle back and sat up. “May I have more?”
Roman smiled. “In a second.” He got to his feet and held out his hands. “I want you to stand with me. You’re going to feel strange for a few days—different, possibly even sick.”
Lydia slid her palms in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet. “I can’t afford to be sick. I need to go after Jacie.”
“We will get your daughter back, Lydia. I’m asking you to trust me. Simon will not harm her as long as he doesn’t have you. He needs her for bait.”
“Bait?” Lydia’s gums began to itch, and heat formed behind her eyes. “I’ll rip out his throat.” The guttural sound of her voice shocked her. “What is happening to me?”
Roman pulled her into his arms. “It’s the change. It’s easier if you go with it. Don’t fight it. And Lydia? I swear to you we will get Jacie back unharmed.”
She tilted her head back to look into his eyes. “But what if—”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” And she did.
He scooped her up and laid her back on the bed. “Then I need you to rest. Allow the change to happen. It will happen a lot faster if you sleep.”
Warmth flooded her mind and her lids grew heavy. “Roman I…” The room went dark.
* * * *
Simon sipped his brandy, listening to the sounds coming from upstairs. He’d ordered Jeanie to keep the child calm and quiet, yet the chatter seemed to grow louder by the minute.
He rested his drink on a side table and slowly got to his feet. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with some kid crying and screaming, but bedtime was fast approaching and his nerves were already on edge. Svetlana had been spotted in the area, and if she got wind of the child, all hell would break loose.
Taking the steps two at a time, he stopped outside Jeanie’s bedroom door with his hand on the knob and hesitated. Something about the little girl’s voice gave him pause.
“Jeanie? Do you think Baltha got my letter?”
“I am positive he did. Now it’s time to take your meds, and then we should get some sleep.”
“Is this your house
, Jeanie? Mama has never let me stay the night with anyone. Can we call her so I can tell her good night?”
“No, it’s not my house. It’s a friend’s place. My phone is dead, but maybe we can give your mom a call in the morning after it’s fully charged.”
“Okay, but we forgot Fangton. I always sleep with Fangton.”
“I’ll sleep with you tonight, Jacie. How about that?”
Simon listened to exchange without moving. Something felt off in that room. The child’s energy was like nothing he’d ever encountered. He had sensed it when he’d entered the house earlier.
He pushed into their minds, hypnotizing them with thoughts of sleep and dreams until the room grew quiet. He opened the door and approached the bed. Jeanie lay on her side with her arm across the stomach of a small, little girl.
It wasn’t Jacie’s size that brought him up short; it was her lack of hair. The child’s aura was pale and weak. She’s dying, Simon thought as he backed up and nearly ran from the room.
Chapter Seventeen
Darkness, as far as the eye could see, splashed across the sky as Lydia ran. Pain spread through every inch of her body, burning and cramping… Still, she ran.
“Jacie!” she screamed into the night, her voice ricocheting off the tall black trees of the forest. “Hold on, baby. Mama’s coming!”
“You won’t find her here,” a woman spoke from somewhere behind her.
Lydia stopped and spun around, her gaze searching the shadows. “Who’s there?”
“Look deep inside yourself, Lydia. I’ve always been there.”
A feeling of calm overtook Lydia, and she held out her hand. “I dream of you often.”
“As I dream of you,” the woman replied, stepping from the trees and taking Lydia’s outstretched hand. Long dark hair spilled over her shoulders to accent her lovely gray eyes. The long red dress she wore scooped at the neck with belled sleeves and gold stitching down the front. The shoes peeking out from under the hem were unlike anything that Lydia had ever seen, with their pointed toes, square heel, and bow on the top.
Tears sprang to Lydia’s eyes. “Ione.”
“We are the same, you and I. I am your past as you were my future.”
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